


Can You Teach Me?

by ultrafreakyfangirl



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Eleven/Nancy sisterly bond, F/M, basically the relationship part is sub genre, eleven is self conscious, small interactions for both couples, some characters tagged are only mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-08
Updated: 2019-07-08
Packaged: 2020-06-24 22:36:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19733059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ultrafreakyfangirl/pseuds/ultrafreakyfangirl
Summary: Eleven + the Byers are back for Christmas at the Wheelers. Eleven is feeling self-conscious and self-doubt about her and Mike. Nancy is there to talk her down. Or up, depending on how you look at it.





	Can You Teach Me?

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for any typos. No edits. Hasty post. Just thought of it. It's a short little ficlet. I love the thought of Nancy/Eleven being like sisters. So, that's where this came from. P.S. Season 3 ruined me. P.P.S. Let me know what you think of this. :)

El ran her fingers through her hair, somewhat aggravated. She tightened the orange scrunchie at the base of her ponytail and loosened it again, before taking it out altogether and shaking her head back and forth so that her hair covered her eyes and her reflection in the mirror. She just couldn’t look at herself anymore. Letting out a breath through her nose and pursing her lips, El opened her eyes again, blinked once, and narrowed her eyes at that one piece of hair that would not stop curling at a stupid angle. It just looked _so stupid._

She could hear voices downstairs. They all melded together most of the time, but she swore sometimes she could hear his apart from the rest, louder, lowering in pitch too, which was something she was still getting used to. He was starting to sound more like Jonathan, Will too, now that she thought about it, and she wondered for a moment if her and Max’s voices sounded any different, to them, to Lucas or to Mike. _The boys._ Ugh. Rationally, she knew that Mike would say she looked nice no matter what she wore or how she styled her hair, and Max would say that it didn’t matter what he thought, and that it only mattered what _she_ thought of herself. _‘If you believe that you look **fine** the world will too, my little Elly baby.’_ She could practically hear Max in her ear. She shivered.

But then, she heard that trademarked bold laugh from downstairs and breathed a sigh of relief. Until another voice made her jump. “What’s happening here, El? You okay? Everyone’s downstairs.”

Eleven whipped around to face Nancy standing in the doorway to her bedroom, her head turned to the side like a little puppy and a hand on one hip. It was concern. Nancy was concerned. _But why? This was no big deal. It’s not like she hasn’t seen Mike in a solid six months and wanted to make sure she looked **perfect** or anything._

“Um. Yeah. I’m fine.” Nancy raised an eyebrow. **_See, concerned._**

“Okay. If you’re sure.”

Nancy already looked _perfect._ She had on this cute knit sweater that was not totally white, but close, with light blue pants – jeans - that sat high on her hips and a big, sparkly, belt buckle. Her hair was as it usually was, but El noticed that there was extra black stuff on her eyelashes, more than usual, and her cheeks sparkled more. _Makeup._ Nancy was wearing makeup. She looked _so pretty._

She was probably looking pretty for Jonathan, not that he would even care, that man has been _head over heels_ _for_ _her_ – as Max would say – for years. So, she was probably looking pretty for herself, too. El smiled at her. She kind of _admired_ her.

“What?” Nancy asked her, her other eyebrow raising now. “Why are you staring at me? Do I have clumpy mascara or something? Oh god, that sounds so stupid and shallow and vain – but I haven’t seen Jonathan in so long and I don’t want him forgetting me and falling for some local girl in community college while I’m off in Maine and – “

“Nancy,” El stopped her, her voice soft and gentle. Almost a whisper. It was the voice that Joyce often used when she awoke with bad dreams during the night. “Stop it, okay? What you’re saying is dumb. Jonathan loves you. He’s _head over heels_ for you in case you haven’t noticed. I’m only looking at you because you look so pretty. You’re beautiful, Nancy.”

Nancy, surprising her, gave her a hug. “Awe, El. _You’re_ the beautiful one. Seriously. Now I’m only going to say this once, because he’s my brother and it’s kind of gross to think about, but he is going to have his mind blown when he sees you, sweetheart.”

Nancy gestured to the scrunchie on her wrist. “Keep it in. It looks adorable on you. Do you want me to help you with your hair?”

El looked up at her. “You mean it? You’ll help me?”

Nancy smiled in response and El smiled back. “Course. For all intents and purposes, you’re my boyfriend’s sister, which makes me kind of like your sister too…now that only gets weird when we factor in that Mike is also my brother…”

El giggled.

“So, we just won’t do that, okay?”

“Okay,” Eleven grinned again as she watched Nancy tie her hair up in a high ponytail through the mirror.

“Do you want a little makeup too? I’m sure Joyce wouldn’t mind. She’s a girl too, after all.” Nancy winked at her.

“Can I really!?”

“Mhm,” Nancy told her with a smile, disappearing for a minute to grab the tube of _mascara_ from her purse. Or so she said. She came back with that and what she also called _blush,_ which El learned was the stuff that goes on your cheeks, as she watched Nancy carefully apply it like she’s been doing probably all her life.

“Can you teach me one day?” El gestured without making much movement to the tube in her hand.

Nancy smiled at her in the mirror. “Of course.”

The two of them walked downstairs to face their boyfriends hand in hand and when they reached the bottom step, Nancy said in a sing-song voice “Mike! Your girlfriend is here!”

El felt her face go warm as Nancy gave her a push towards him and she just stood there for a second, watching Nancy give Jonathon a hug and a kiss that looked so _sweet_ and so _perfect,_ like they didn’t even have to practice it.

If she were being honest, El still felt awkward about the whole kissing thing, but was scared to tell Mike. She didn’t want to stop it or anything, but she wished it would stop feeling…weird. She wanted it to look like Nancy and Jonathan’s, feel how theirs must feel…and suddenly, there was Mike, holding her tightly in a hug. “El, you look so nice! Wow! I’m sure a lucky guy, huh?”

He winked at her and she laughed and suddenly, the nerves she had about kissing went away just as fast as they came, because their lips were touching again after months apart and it didn’t feel weird or gross or anything it just felt… _nice._

“Thank your sister for that. She showed me her makeup and let me wear some of it. Do you like it?” She could see from the corner of her eye Nancy holding her hand to her mouth – something people seemed to do to keep from laughing – and she cringed, but then Nancy shot her a thumbs up. She smiled.

Mike looked over at his sister. “You’re welcome,” she said, to him, or maybe to both of them and then looked back at her.

For a second she felt like she couldn’t breathe.

“I love it, El. But just so you know, uh, you’re pretty, uh, like, no matter what.”

“Thank you,” she told him with a satisfied grin, before kissing him once more.


End file.
